Slickrock and Shadow

Walking to Duddo Stone circle through a vast wind-swept field! Imagine a stone circle in England that stands on a mound with fields in every direction:  nothing to block the view from this ancient stone circle.  The Duddo Stones form a 5-stone circle that can be walked to over a flat farmer's field.  Near Duddo, UK, this circle is a bit off the beaten path in Northumberland.  A few small signs will point you in the right direction.  A right-of-way path goes through some fields.  After about 1/2 a mile of walking, you'll see this view of the stones with a direct path to them. The stones are rough with deep creases and irregular shapes.  Some distant fields are yellow with rapeseed. All 5 Duddo stones Duddo Stones with deep gouges and lines. Duddo Stones in a big universe And to get the spooky and eerie feeling, I processed this shot in black and white. Black and White:  Duddo Stone Circle

Skyfall, the place Skyfall is a catchy name for a James Bond movie.  The actual location Skyfall is near Glencoe, Scotland.  When exploring around I couldn't resist the urge to see this place, to say I'd been to Skyfall myself. What's there?  Air, mountains, valleys, green growth, big skies. What's not there?  People, James Bond's home, civilization. This panorama is at the end of the road (it's a dead end) looking back over the terrain from Kings House to Skyfall.  Deer jump across the roads, clouds pass surprisingly quickly across the sky and times doesn't seem to matter.  I'd recommend a visit.

Kanab Point at the exact moment of Sunrise Kanab point has everything I'd want in a Grand Canyon viewpoint.  It's remote.  My family had it all to ourselves.  It's got great views at sunrise and sunset.  It's got towering rock pillars and distant twisted dark canyons.  It overlooks the confluence of two huge canyons:  the Grand Canyon and Kanab Canyon.  You can see all the way down to the water far below.  It's pretty undiscovered as far as photography goes. After camping there overnight, I got up before sunrise and went to the point looking east.  The sun will rise over Kanab Creek to the east and the main Grand Canyon with the Colorado is slightly to the southeast.  You can include views in any direction except northwest.  It drops off in sheer cliffs in all those directions. I shot with a variety of lenses to bring some specific things into focus, such as the Golden Rocky Towers with a 70-200 mm lens.  I used the 17...

Eye:  Hobgoblin Playground (Little Finland) landscape photography This is a timely post because this location was recently designated Gold Butte National Monument.  It is also known as Hobgoblin Playground.  The name that most people recognize is Little Finland.  That name is the most mysterious and curious.  I assume it is referring to the sandstone "fins" which are present on many of these delicate creatures.  The name hobgoblin seems to make more sense because it is similar to Goblin Valley in Utah.  Nevertheless by any name it is an interesting place to visit and I must say it is a long road to visit.  The scenery is pretty, lonely.  I have no idea if President Obama has ever visited this area before turning it into a national monument.  This designation will surely bring more visitors to the area.  The beauty is undisputed. Pincer:  the lobster or crab reaches out in this bizarre sandstone shape. As far as photog...

Bridal Shoot in southern Utah Here's is Part Two of my fun and fast photo-fest with Mark and Missy.  We shot their bridal portraits the afternoon after their engagement shots.  We chose an empty world outside of the city for these shots.  The true nothing-ness surrounding them gives an exotic feel.  

Groom and Bride at their engagement session I had a great time shooting an engagement session with two wonderful people:  Mark and Missy.  We shot here in downtown St. George.  Although Mark had a broken foot at the time, he was a great sport and happily tried anything asked of him.  Aren't they beautiful?

Alien Planet:  Dramatic skies with orange and purple reflected light shone over Lake Powell's Dungeon Canyon I've done some posts on Lake Powell before and this year I'll add to this growing category.  Each year Lake Powell gives me a surprise.  The changing water level reveals or conceals different things year to year.  A great beach one year is gone the next.  A picturesque promontory can disappear in a season. Dungeon Canyon is near Rainbow Bridge.  It's pretty small and cannot give anchorage to more than a handful of boaters.  This year I found a good beach to anchor a boat and enjoyed some family time.  Storms threatened but did not truly strike until the final day.  With these storms came some dramatic skies.  One evening the sky shone bright orange long before the last light of sunset.  I grabbed my camera with its' 16-35mm wide angle lens and began searching for a good photography subject to match the dramatic skies....